I don't think this is a bug (only a minor visual issue). If you look closely on the context menu opened in normal file pane, you'll see that it's the menu of/for the directory you're in. There's no such thing in a search result because there can be countless directories.

Keyboard hotkey Shift+F10/WinContext always shows the context menu for the selected object or under the cursor, in other words it's not possible to call the context menu of the empty space (= current directory) via keyboard; this only works with the mouse.

It is slightly more complicated: the menu is for both entities and for the pane itself.

I didn't say anything contrary, did I? OK, let me rephrase it as a question: In the search results, how do you call the context menu for the directory itself (and not for one of the search results) via the keyboard? I don't see how this would be possible, as I already pointed out.

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At least, it should be possible to use copy or cut functions, and functions related to the pane itself.

Copy/cut are functions that are always linked to objects (files/directories). "Functions of the pane itself" - well, if your search was done in a tree of directories, for which of them should the context menu be shown?

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Finally, if context menu should not be created in this particular case, it might be expected at least to skip menu creation steps and not to see that progress bar.

Yes, that's the visual issue I meant. My guess is that TC does the check whether or not to show the context menu after the progress bar is finished.

2Hacker
Yes, of course. However, I agree with browny that the progress bar shouldn't appear when nothing is going to happen, in this case (not) opening the context menu. But as I said, it's only a minor thing.

You said: it's not possible to call the context menu of the empty space (= current directory).
A pane is not a directory. A pane contains objects: directories, files, selection and so on.

Dalai wrote:

OK, let me rephrase it as a question: In the search results, how do you call the context menu for the directory itself (and not for one of the search results) via the keyboard?

Hard to tell what is directory itself in search results, but definitely there is a pane.

Dalai wrote:

well, if your search was done in a tree of directories, for which of them should the context menu be shown?

Context menu may include any valid actions for several different kinds of objects. Not necessarily there would be anything about directories.
You could try it youself: there should be no difficulty in telling where are selected items or the current item in any kind of pane.

PS. Quite possibly this topic goes to "will not be changed".
Because that context menu is based on Explorer's/shell32 context menu.

You should really take a closer look at the context menu that is shown when you right-click on the empty area below the file names in the normal pane/directory (not in the search results). It's the context menu for the current directory, as I already pointed out in my first post. Note that it's the same menu that is shown when you right-click on the path bar. And BTW, the menu is completely independent from a selection of objects, in other words it doesn't matter whether or not there are files/directories selected, the menu is always the same (as opposed to the menu you get when right-clicking on files/directories).

There is no "current directory" in the search results, thus TC shows no context menu when you right-click on the empty area below the results, or on the path bar.

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Hard to tell what is directory itself in search results, but definitely there is a pane.

Exactly, there is no directory in the search results, since they're some kind of virtual view, so there is no context menu that could be shown - except the one(s) for the results themselves.